What Would Empathy-Based Healthcare Look Like?

Paul Rosen, MD, Nemours

Dr. Paul Rosen thinks a lot about empathy in healthcare delivery.

Paul Rosen, MD, Nemours

Dr. Paul Rosen thinks a lot about empathy in healthcare delivery.

In his insightful and inspiring TEDx presentation, Dr. Rosen observed: “In 1915, Henry Ford took a tour of the brand new Henry Ford Hospital. When he finished his tour, he turned to the hospital administrator and said, ‘Well, I see you’ve designed the hospital perfectly to fit the needs of the physician…instead of the patient.’”

One hundred years later, how much progress have we made?

As the Clinical Director of Service and Operational Excellence at Nemours Children’s Health System, he asks the challenging question, “What would healthcare look like if it was based on empathy?” He speaks candidly to that issue in his talk titled: Empathy: The Next Revolution in Health Care.

“It seems like our healthcare culture is driving empathy out of our young doctors.” Dr. Rosen observes that, if we can restore empathy, the wait for appointments goes away, the wait in the emergency room goes away, and waiting through the weekend to hear if your child’s cancer has returned goes away.

“If we redesigned health care systems based on empathy…the pillars of care in the hospital would be your healing, your nutrition, your sleep, your pain control, and your communications with your medical team.”

When I talked with Dr. Rosen on camera previously, we were attending Cleveland Clinic’s Patient Experience Summit. You can watch our video conversation here: Nemours “True North”: Unconventional Hours and Other Care Commitments.

Pediatric Rheumatologist Paul Rosen, MD is Clinical Director of Service and Operational Excellence at Nemours. He received a masters of public health degree from Harvard University and a masters of medical management degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Rosen’s interests include patient-physician communication, family-centered care, and the patient experience. He teaches medical students about improving the patient experience, and he serves as the faculty mentor for the physician executive leadership program for medical students at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.

This talk was presented at a local TEDx event in Wilmington, DE.